To the Great Falls of the Missouri

Next day, June 8, the Lewis party returned to the main body of the
expedition. They reported that timber was scarce along the river, except
in the lowlands, where there were pretty groves and thickets. These trees,
the journal says, were the haunts of innumerable birds, which, as the sun
rose, sung delightfully:—

"Among these birds they distinguished the brown thrush, robin,
turtle-dove, linnet, gold-finch, large and small blackbird, wren, and some
others. As they came along, the whole party were of opinion that this
river was the true Missouri; but Captain Lewis, being fully persuaded that
it was neither the main stream, nor that which it would be advisable to
ascend, gave it the name of Maria's River. After travelling all day they
reached camp about five o'clock in the afternoon, and found Captain Clark
and the party very anxious for their safety. As they had stayed two days
longer than had been expected, and as Captain Clark had returned at the
appointed time, it was feared that they had met with some
accident."

As we now know, the stream that came in from the north was that
which is still called Maria's (or Marais) River, and the so-called branch
from the southwest was the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark, however, were
in the dark as to the relations of the two streams. Which was the parent?
Which was the branch? After pondering all the evidence that could be
collected to bear on the important question, the two captains agreed that
the southern stream was the true Missouri, and the northern stream was an
important branch. The journal says:

"These observations, which satisfied our minds completely, we
communicated to the party; but every one of them was of a contrary
opinion. Much of their belief depended on Crusatte, an experienced
waterman on the Missouri, who gave it as his decided judgment that the
north fork was the genuine Missouri. The men, therefore, mentioned that,
although they would most cheerfully follow us wherever we should direct,
yet they were afraid that the south fork would soon terminate in the Rocky
Mountains, and leave us at a great distance from the Columbia. In order
that nothing might be omitted which could prevent our falling into an
error, it was agreed that one of us should ascend the southern branch by
land, until we reached either the falls or the mountains. In the meantime,
in order to lighten our burdens as much as possible, we determined to
deposit here one of the pirogues, and all the heavy baggage which we could
possibly spare, as well as some provision, salt, powder, and tools. This
would at once lighten the other boats, and give them the crew which had
been employed on board the pirogue."

On the tenth of June, the weather being fair and pleasant, they
dried all their baggage and merchandise and secreted them in places of
deposits, called caches, as follows:—

"These deposits—or caches, as they are called by the Missouri
traders—are very common, particularly among those who deal with the
Sioux, as the skins and merchandise will keep perfectly sound for years,
and are protected from robbery. Our cache was built in the usual manner.
In the high plain on the north side of the Missouri, and forty yards from
a steep bluff, we chose a dry situation, and then, describing a small
circle of about twenty inches diameter, removed the sod as gently and
carefully as possible: the hole was then sunk perpendicularly for a foot
deep. It was now worked gradually wider as it descended, till at length it
became six or seven feet deep, shaped nearly like a kettle, or the lower
part of a large still with the bottom somewhat sunk at the centre. As the
earth was dug it was handed up in a vessel, and carefully laid on a skin
or cloth, in which it was carried away and thrown into the river, so as to
leave no trace of it. A floor of three or four inches in thickness was
then made of dry sticks, on which was placed a hide perfectly dry. The
goods, being well aired and dried, were laid on this floor, and prevented
from touching the wall by other dried sticks, as the merchandise was
stowed away. When the hole was nearly full, a skin was laid over the
goods, and on this earth was thrown and beaten down, until, with the
addition of the sod first removed, the whole was on a level with the
ground, and there remained not the slightest appearance of an excavation.
In addition to this, we made another of smaller dimensions, in which we
placed all the baggage, some powder, and our blacksmith's tools, having
previously repaired such of the tools as we carry with us that require
mending. To guard against accident, we had two parcelss of lead and powder
in the two places. The red pirogue was drawn up on the middle of a small
island, at the entrance of Maria's River, and secured, by being fastened
to the trees, from the effects of any floods. We now took another
observation of the meridian altitude of the sun, and found that the mean
latitude of Maria's River, as deduced from three observations, is 49'0 25'
17.2" N."

In order to make assurance doubly sure, Captain Lewis resolved to
take four men with him and ascend the south branch (that is, the true
Missouri), before committing the expedition to that route as the final
one. His proposition was that his party should proceed up the river as
rapidly as possible in advance of the main party. On the second day out,
says the journal:—

"Captain Lewis left the bank of the river in order to avoid the
steep ravines, which generally run from the shore to the distance of one
or two miles in the plain. Having reached the open country he went for
twelve miles in a course a little to the W. of S.W.; when, the sun
becoming warm by nine o'clock, he returned to the river in quest of water,
and to kill something for breakfast; there being no water in the plain,
and the buffalo, discovering them before they came within gunshot, took to
flight. They reached the banks in a handsome open low ground with
cottonwood, after three miles' walk. Here they saw two large brown bears,
and killed them both at the first fire—a circumstance which has never
before occurred since we have seen that animal. Having made a meal of a
part, and hung the remainder on a tree, with a note for Captain Clark,
they again ascended the bluffs into the open plains. Here they saw great
numbers of the burrowing-squirrel, also some wolves, antelopes, mule-deer,
and vast herds of buffalo. They soon crossed a ridge considerably higher
than the surrounding plains, and from its top had a beautiful view of the
Rocky Mountains, which are now completely covered with snow. Their general
course is from S.E. to N. of N.W., and they seem to consist of several
ranges which successively rise above each other, till the most distant
mingles with the clouds. After travelling twelve miles they again met the
river, where there was a handsome plain of cottonwood."

Again leaving the river, Captain Lewis bore off more to the north,
the stream here bearing considerably to the south, with difficult bluffs
along its course. But fearful of passing the Great Falls before reaching
the Rocky Mountains, he again changed his course and, leaving the bluffs
to his right he turned towards the river.

The journal gives this description of what followed:—

"In this direction Captain Lewis had gone about two miles, when his
ears were saluted with the agreeable sound of a fall of water, and as he
advanced a spray, which seemed driven by the high southwest wind, arose
above the plain like a column of smoke, and vanished in an instant. Toward
this point he directed his steps; the noise increased as he approached,
and soon became too tremendous to be mistaken for anything but the Great
Falls of the Missouri. Having travelled seven miles after first hearing
the sound, he reached the falls about twelve o'clock. The hills as he
approached were difficult of access and two hundred feet high. Down these
he hurried with impatience; and, seating himself on some rocks under the
centre of the falls, enjoyed the sublime spectacle of this stupendous
object, which since the creation had been lavishing its magnificence upon
the desert, unknown to civilization.

"The river immediately at this cascade is three hundred yards wide,
and is pressed in by a perpendicular cliff on the left, which rises to
about one hundred feet and extends up the stream for a mile; on the right
the bluff is also perpendicular for three hundred yards above the falls.
For ninety or one hundred yards from the left cliff, the water falls in
one smooth, even sheet, over a precipice of at least eighty feet. The
remaining part of the river precipitates itself with a more rapid current,
but being received as it falls by the irregular and somewhat projecting
rocks below, forms a splendid prospect of perfectly white foam, two
hundred yards in length and eighty in perpendicular elevation. This spray
is dissipated into a thousand shapes, sometimes flying up in columns of
fifteen or twenty feet, which are then oppressed by larger masses of the
white foam, on all of which the sun impresses the brightest colors of the
rainbow. Below the fall the water beats with fury against a ledge of
rocks, which extends across the river at one hundred and fifty yards from
the precipice. From the perpendicular cliff on the north to the distance
of one hundred and twenty yards, the rocks are only a few feet above the
water; and, when the river is high, the stream finds a channel across them
forty yards wide, and near the higher parts of the ledge, which rise about
twenty feet, and terminate abruptly within eighty or ninety yards of the
southern side. Between them and the perpendicular cliff on the south, the
whole body of water runs with great swiftness. A few small cedars grow
near this ridge of rocks, which serves as a barrier to defend a small
plain of about three acres, shaded with cottonwood; at the lower extremity
of which is a grove of the same trees, where are several deserted Indian
cabins of sticks; below which the river is divided by a large rock,
several feet above the surface of the water, and extending down the stream
for twenty yards. At the distance of three hundred yards from the same
ridge is a second abutment of solid perpendicular rock, about sixty feet
high, projecting at right angles from the small plain on the north for one
hundred and thirty-four yards into the river. After leaving this, the
Missouri again spreads itself to its previous breadth of three hundred
yards, though with more than its ordinary rapidity."

One of Lewis's men was sent back to inform Captain Clark of this
momentous discovery, which finally settled all doubt as to which was the
true Missouri. The famous Great Falls of the river had been finally
reached. Captain Lewis next went on to examine the rapids above the falls.
The journal says:—

"After passing one continued rapid and three cascades, each three or
four feet high, he reached, at the distance of five miles, a second fall.
The river is here about four hundred yards wide, and for the distance of
three hundred rushes down to the depth of nineteen feet, and so
irregularly that he gave it the name of the Crooked Falls. From the
southern shore it extends obliquely upward about one hundred and fifty
yards, and then forms an acute angle downward nearly to the commencement
of four small islands close to the northern side. From the perpendicular
pitch to these islands, a distance of more than one hundred yards, the
water glides down a sloping rock with a velocity almost equal to that of
its fall: above this fall the river bends suddenly to the northward. While
viewing this place, Captain Lewis heard a loud roar above him, and,
crossing the point of a hill a few hundred yards, he saw one of the most
beautiful objects in nature: the whole Missouri is suddenly stopped by one
shelving rock, which, without a single niche, and with an edge as straight
and regular as if formed by art, stretches itself from one side of the
river to the other for at least a quarter of a mile. Over this it
precipitates itself in an even, uninterrupted sheet, to the perpendicular
depth of fifty feet, whence, dashing against the rocky bottom, it rushes
rapidly down, leaving behind it a sheet of the purest foam across the
river. The scene which it presented was indeed singularly beautiful;
since, without any of the wild, irregular sublimity of the lower falls, it
combined all the regular elegancies which the fancy of a painter would
select to form a beautiful waterfall. The eye had scarcely been regaled
with this charming prospect, when at the distance of half a mile Captain
Lewis observed another of a similar kind. To this he immediately hastened,
and found a cascade stretching across the whole river for a quarter of a
mile, with a descent of fourteen feet, though the perpendicular pitch was
only six feet. This, too, in any other neighborhood, would have been an
object of great magnificence; but after what he had just seen, it became
of secondary interest. His curiosity being, however, awakened, he
determined to go on, even should night overtake him, to the head of the
falls.

"He therefore pursued the southwest course of the river, which was
one constant succession of rapids and small cascades, at every one of
which the bluffs grew lower, or the bed of the river became more on a
level with the plains. At the distance of two and one-half miles he
arrived at another cataract, of twenty-six feet. The river is here six
hundred yards wide, but the descent is not immediately perpendicular,
though the river falls generally with a regular and smooth sheet; for
about one-third of the descent a rock protrudes to a small distance,
receives the water in its passage, and gives it a curve. On the south side
is a beautiful plain, a few feet above the level of the falls; on the
north, the country is more broken, and there is a hill not far from the
river. Just below the falls is a little island in the middle of the river,
well covered with timber. Here on a cottonwood tree an eagle had fixed her
nest, and seemed the undisputed mistress of a spot, to contest whose
dominion neither man nor beast would venture across the gulfs that
surround it, and which is further secured by the mist rising from the
falls. This solitary bird could not escape the observation of the Indians,
who made the eagle's nest a part of their description of the falls, which
now proves to be correct in almost every particular, except that they did
not do justice to the height.

"Just above this is a cascade of about five feet, beyond which, as
far as could be discerned, the velocity of the water seemed to abate.
Captain Lewis now ascended the hill which was behind him, and saw from its
top a delightful plain, extending from the river to the base of the Snowy
[Rocky] Mountains to the south and southwest. Along this wide, level
country the Missouri pursued its winding course, filled with water to its
smooth, grassy banks, while about four miles above, it was joined by a
large river flowing from the northwest, through a valley three miles in
width, and distinguished by the timber which adorned its shores. The
Missouri itself stretches to the south, in one unruffled stream of water,
as if unconscious of the roughness it must soon encounter, and bearing on
its bosom vast flocks of geese, while numerous herds of buffalo are
feeding on the plains which surround it.

"Captain Lewis then descended the hill, and directed his course
towards the river falling in from the west. He soon met a herd of at least
a thousand buffalo, and, being desirous of providing for supper, shot one
of them. The animal immediately began to bleed, and Captain Lewis, who had
forgotten to reload his rifle, was intently watching to see him fall, when
he beheld a large brown bear which was stealing on him unperceived, and
was already within twenty steps. In the first moment of surprise he lifted
his rifle; but, remembering instantly that it was not charged, and that he
had no time to reload, he felt that there was no safety but in flight. It
was in the open, level plain; not a bush nor a tree within three hundred
yards; the bank of the river sloping, and not more than three feet high,
so that there was no possible mode of concealment. Captain Lewis,
therefore, thought of retreating with a quick walk, as fast as the bear
advanced, towards the nearest tree; but, as soon as he turned, the bear
rushed open-mouthed, and at full speed, upon him. Captain Lewis ran about
eighty yards, but finding that the animal gained on him fast, it flashed
on his mind that, by getting into the water to such a depth that the bear
would be obliged to attack him swimming, there was still some chance of
his life; he therefore turned short, plunged into the river about
waist-deep, and facing about presented the point of his espontoon. The
bear arrived at the water's edge within twenty feet of him; but as soon as
he put himself in this posture of defence, the bear seemed frightened, and
wheeling about, retreated with as much precipitation as he had pursued.
Very glad to be released from this danger, Captain Lewis returned to the
shore, and observed him run with great speed, sometimes looking back as if
he expected to be pursued, till he reached the woods. He could not
conceive the cause of the sudden alarm of the bear, but congratulated
himself on his escape when he saw his own track torn to pieces by the
furious animal, and learned from the whole adventure never to suffer his
rifle to be a moment unloaded."

Captain Lewis now resumed his progress towards the western, or Sun,
River, then more commonly known among the Indians as Medicine River. In
going through the lowlands of this stream, he met an animal which he
thought was a wolf, but which was more likely a wolverine, or carcajou.
The journal says:—

"It proved to be some brownish yellow animal, standing near its
burrow, which, when he came nigh, crouched, and seemed as if about to
spring on him. Captain Lewis fired, and the beast disappeared in its
burrow. From the track, and the general appearance of the animal, he
supposed it to be of the tiger kind. He then went on; but, as if the
beasts of the forest had conspired against him, three buffalo bulls, which
were feeding with a large herd at the distance of half a mile, left their
companions, and ran at full speed towards him. He turned round, and,
unwilling to give up the field, advanced to meet them: when they were
within a hundred yards they stopped, looked at him for some time, and then
retreated as they came. He now pursued his route in the dark, reflecting
on the strange adventures and sights of the day, which crowded on his mind
so rapidly, that he should have been inclined to believe it all
enchantment if the thorns of the prickly pear, piercing his feet, had not
dispelled at every moment the illusion. He at last reached the party, who
had been very anxious for his safety, and who had already decided on the
route which each should take in the morning to look for him. Being much
fatigued, he supped, and slept well during the night."

On awaking the next morning, Captain Lewis found a large rattlesnake
coiled on the trunk of a tree under which he had been sleeping. He killed
it, and found it like those he had seen before, differing from those of
the Atlantic States, not in its colors, but in the form and arrangement of
them. Information was received that Captain Clark had arrived five miles
below, at a rapid which he did not think it prudent to ascend, and that he
was waiting there for the party above to rejoin him.

After the departure of Captain Lewis, Captain Clark had remained a
day at Maria's River, to complete the deposit of such articles as they
could dispense with, and started on the twelfth of June.

Four days later, Captain Clark left the river, having sent his
messenger to Captain Lewis, and began to search for a proper portage to
convey the pirogue and canoes across to the Columbia River, leaving most
of the men to hunt, make wheels and draw the canoes up a creek which they
named Portage Creek, as it was to be the base of their future operations.
The stream is now known as Belt Mountain Creek. But the explorers soon
found that although the pirogue was to be left behind, the way was too
difficult for a portage even for canoes. The journal says:—

"We found great difficulty and some danger in even ascending the
creek thus far, in consequence of the rapids and rocks of the channel of
the creek, which just above where we brought the canoes has a fall of five
feet, with high steep bluffs beyond it. We were very fortunate in finding,
just below Portage Creek, a cottonwood tree about twenty-two inches in
diameter, large enough to make the carriage-wheels. It was, perhaps, the
only one of the same size within twenty miles; and the cottonwood which we
are obliged to employ in the other parts of the work is extremely soft and
brittle. The mast of the white pirogue, which we mean to leave behind,
supplied us with two axle-trees.

"There are vast quantities of buffalo feeding on the plains or
watering in the river, which is also strewed with the floating carcasses
and limbs of these animals. They go in large herds to water about the
falls, and as all the passages to the river near that place are narrow and
steep, the foremost are pressed into the river by the impatience of those
behind. In this way we have seen ten or a dozen disappear over the falls
in a few minutes. They afford excellent food for the wolves, bears, and
birds of prey; which circumstance may account for the reluctance of the
bears to yield their dominion over the neighborhood.

"The pirogue was drawn up a little below our camp, and secured in a
thick copse of willow-bushes. We now began to form a cache or place of
deposit, and to dry our goods and other articles which required
inspection. The wagons are completed. Our hunters brought us ten deer, and
we shot two out of a herd of buffalo that came to water at Sulphur Spring.
There is a species of gooseberry, growing abundantly among the rocks on
the sides of the cliffs. It is now ripe, of a pale red color, about the
size of the common gooseberry, and like it is an ovate pericarp of soft
pulp enveloping a number of small whitish seeds, and consisting of a
yellowish, slimy, mucilaginous substance, with a sweet taste; the surface
of the berry is covered glutinous, adhesive matter, and its fruit, though
ripe, retains its withered corolla. The shrub itself seldom rises more
than two feet high, is much branched, and has no thorns. The leaves
resemble those of the common gooseberry, except in being smaller, and the
berry is supported by separate peduncles or foot-stalks half an inch long.
There are also immense quantities of grasshoppers, of a brown color, on
the plains; they, no doubt, contribute to the lowness of the grass, which
is not generally more than three inches high, though it is soft,
narrow-leaved, and affords a fine pasture for the buffalo."